IT’S A COOL YULE ON VH1 WITH THE CABLE PREMIERE OF THE “LADY GAGA & THE MUPPETS’ HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR” SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7th AT 7:00 PM ET/ PT

SANTA MONICA, CA (DECEMBER 5, 2013) – Join VH1 this Saturday, December 7th, 2013 at 7:00 PM ET/ PT to celebrate the holiday season ‘the new old-fashioned way’ with the cable premiere of the 90-minute TV special “Lady Gaga & The Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular.” Originally broadcast Thanksgiving night (11/28/2013) on the ABC Television Network, the special delivers a seasonal twist on the ultimate mash-up of music + pop culture + nostalgia for which the VH1 brand is widely recognized.

Two beloved and much discussed entertainment icons unite onstage as Lady Gaga and The Muppets perform holiday standards and Lady Gaga hits, including songs from her new album ARTPOP. Musical guests include Sir Elton John, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and RuPaul. Kristen Bell also makes an appearance, along with special Muppet guests. Don’t miss a duet between Lady Gaga and Kermit the Frog!

“Lady Gaga & The Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular” is Lady Gaga’s second primetime network TV Thanksgiving night special. The special is produced by Sunset Lane Entertainment, in association with ABC’s Lincoln Square Productions, with Salli Frattini as executive producer and directed by Gregg Gelfand.

On NBC, NFL Football(Ravens/Steelers) earned a preliminary 6.0 adults 18-49 rating down 3 percent from a preliminary 6.2 for last night’s Thanksgiving game.

On ABC, A Charlie Brown Thanksgivingscored a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating up 45 percent from last Thanksgiving’s 1.1. Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular garnered a 0.9 adults 18-49 rating, down 25 percent from a 1.2 for last Thanksgiving’s Bad 25 and tying Glee, which 10 percent of you accurately predicted.

On FOX The X Factorearned a series low 1.0 down 33 percent from last week’s 1.5 adults 18-49 rating and down 64 percent from last Thanksgiving’s 2.8. Glee notched a series low 0.9 down 36 percent from last week’s series low 1.4 adults 18-49 rating and down 40 percent from last Thanksgiving’s 1.5. FOX designated both programs as specials, so these low numbers won’t count for either show’s overall ratings average.

Overnight ratings for Thursday, November 28, 2013:

Time

Net

Show

18-49 Rating/Sh

Viewers (Millions)

8:00

CBS

Football (Live)/The Big Bang Theory -R

4.9/17

15.853

NBC

Football Night in America – Live

3.9/13

12.52

ABC

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving- R

1.6/5

5.39

FOX

The X Factor

1.0/3

3.75

CW

You Again (8-10PM)

0..2/1

1.08

8:30

NBC

NFL Football (Steelers/Ravens) – Live

6.0/19

18.61

CBS

The Crazy Ones – R

2.7/9

9.12

9:00

CBS

The Crazy Ones – R

1.6/5

5.54

ABC

Modern Family – R

1.1/3

3.43

FOX

Glee

0.9/3

2.80

9:30

ABC

Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular

0.9/3

3.62

CBS

The Crazy Ones – R

1.1/3

4.28

10:00

CBS

Elementary – R

1.1/3

4.66

–

Via NBC Press Note:

In Late-Night Metered Markets Thursday night:

In Nielsen’s 56 metered markets, household results were: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 3.1/10 (delayed by an NFL overrun, subject to adjustment); CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman,” 2.3/6 with an encore; and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” 1.6/4 with an encore.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” 1.4/8 (delayed by an NFL overrun, subject to adjustment); “Late Show,” 0.6/3 with an encore; “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” 0.5/2 with an encore.

From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC’s “Nightline” averaged a 1.0/3 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

At 12:35 a.m., “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (1.9/7 in metered-market households, delayed by an NFL overrun, subject to adjustment) beat CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (1.4/4 with an encore). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, “Late Night” (0.9/6 in 18-49) topped “Late Late Show” (0.3/2 with an encore).

At 1:35 a.m., “Last Call with Carson Daly” averaged a 1.0/5 in metered-market households with an encore delayed by an NFL overrun (subject to adjustment), and a 0.5/4 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings, including demographics, are available at approximately 11 AM (ET) the day after telecast, and are released to subscribing customers daily. These data, from the National People Meter sample, are strictly time-period information, based on the normal broadcast network feed, and include all programming on the affiliated stations, sometimes including network programming, sometimes not. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns. For example, with a World Series game, Fast Affiliate Ratings would include whatever aired from 8-11PM on affiliates in the Pacific Time Zone, following the live football game, but not game coverage that begins at 5PM PT. The same would be true of Presidential debates as well as live award shows and breaking news reports.

Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent.

Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time. (See also, Rating, which represents tuning or viewing as a percent of the entire population being measured.)Time Shifted Viewing – Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live+Same Day (Live+SD) and Live+7 Day. Time shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs. Live+Same Day (Live+SD) include viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3:00AM local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live+7 Day ratings include incremental viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.

Ah, Thanksgiving a day of gratitude, turkey, carbohydrates, parades and football. Lots and lots of football. This year, the television gods have decided to create a new Thanksgiving tradition: puppets. ABC is airing Lady Gaga and the Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular,featuring the pop star doing her best to live up to the awesomeness of Debbie Harry on the original Muppet Show:

Coincidentally, on FOX a new episode of Glee features the New Directions gang singing with puppets. It’s a given that both programs will be clobbered by football on NBC, but which puppets will prove more popular among adults 18-49? Lady Gaga’s new album has been underperforming, which is a strike against the Muppets special, but Kermit and Miss Piggy have a loyal following. Though Glee has struggled this season, Gleeks may enjoy seeing the felt versions of their favorite characters. Make your predictions then go enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Special Will Feature Performances by Sir Elton John, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and RuPaul,

An Appearance by Kristen Bell, Along with Several Performances by Lady Gaga from Her

New Album, ARTPOP, Including a Duet with Kermit the Frog

On Thanksgiving night, NOVEMBER 28 (9:30-11:00 p.m., ET), the ABC Television Network will air the 90-minute special, “Lady Gaga & The Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular.” The broadcast offers an avant-garde twist on the classic holiday variety show as Lady Gaga goes backstage with The Muppets, making a performance dream come true for the multi-platinum singer songwriter when they combine forces to sing holiday favorites and Lady Gaga hits.

“I was so excited when ABC called me about doing a holiday special this year,” said Lady Gaga. “I knew it just wouldn’t be a complete night of laughter and memories without The Muppets! Can’t wait to see the gang again and I hope Miss Piggy’s still not mad about Kermit. We’re just friends!”

“What an incredible opportunity!” said Kermit the Frog. “We have a long history with Ms. Gaga, so we jumped at the chance to do a holiday special with her. We won’t even mind if she mistakes some of the Muppets for pieces of her wardrobe—again.”

The special features Lady Gaga performing songs from her new album, ARTPOP, available Monday, November 11 on Streamline/Interscope Records. Performance highlights include a duet between Lady Gaga and Kermit the Frog, a dazzling rendition of Gaga’s hit “Applause” with special Muppet guests, and performance duets with Sir Elton John, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and RuPaul. Kristen Bell appears in a special sketch alongside the Muppets and Lady Gaga. In addition, Swedish Chef, Beaker and Animal will perform special Muppet renditions of the holiday classics “Deck the Halls” and “Jingle Bells.”

The program will also feature a sneak peek from the upcoming Disney movie “Muppets Most Wanted,” which features Lady Gaga herself in a spectacular cameo performance. Disney’s “Muppets Most Wanted” hits theaters March 21, 2014.

This is Lady Gaga’s second primetime Thanksgiving night special for ABC. “Lady Gaga & The Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular” is produced by Sunset Lane Entertainment, in association with ABC’s Lincoln Square Productions, with Salli Frattini as executive producer and directed by Gregg Gelfand.

About Lady Gaga

LADY GAGA came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including five Grammy Awards amongst fifteen nominations, thirteen MTV Video Music Awards amongst twenty-six nominations, and the estimated sale of 24 million albums and 90 million singles worldwide. She has travelled the world on numerous tours including 2008’s The Fame Ball, 2009-2011’s The Monster Ball and 2012-2013’s Born This Way Ball. An HBO television special titled Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden earned an Emmy Award amongst its five nominations. Her third studio album, Born This Way, broke the iTunes record for the fastest rise to #1 on release day. In 2013, Time Magazine named her the second most influential person of the decade. With over 2.5 billion combined views of all her videos online, Lady Gaga is one of the biggest living forces in social media with over 60 million likes on Facebook and over 40 million followers on Twitter. She is also a global activist and philanthropist, having been an outspoken supporter of many important issues including LGBT rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, body image issues, and youth empowerment. In 2011, she launched her own Born This Way Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to empowering youth and creating a kinder and braver world. In 2011, she also built & launched a social network just for her fans, LittleMonsters.com. Lady Gaga is the only artist in the digital era to top the 5 million sales mark with her first two hits. Lady Gaga’s fourth studio album, ARTPOP, will be released on November 11, 2013 in conjunction with an app developed by TechHAUS, the technological branch of HAUS OF GAGA. On this day, HAUS OF GAGA verges with forte to bring the music industry into a new age; an age where art drives pop, and the artist once again is in control of the “icon.” ARTPOP could mean anything. But for Lady Gaga, this is a celebration of obsession.

About “Muppets Most Wanted”

Disney’s “Muppets Most Wanted” takes the entire Muppets gang on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europe’s most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine—the World’s Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit—and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two, portrayed by Ricky Gervais. The film stars Tina Fey as Nadya, a feisty prison guard, and Ty Burrell as Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon. Disney’s “Muppets Most Wanted” is directed by James Bobin and produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. Bobin co-wrote the screenplay with Nicholas Stoller, who is also executive producer with John G. Scotti. Featuring music from Academy Award®-winning songwriter Bret McKenzie, “Muppets Most Wanted” hits the big screen March 21, 2014. For more information, visit Disney.com/Muppets, like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/Muppets, and follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/MuppetsStudio.